


Namikaze Trio

by Herald_of_Naamah



Category: Naruto
Genre: Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-13
Updated: 2018-09-03
Packaged: 2018-12-14 16:10:30
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 9,308
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11786712
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Herald_of_Naamah/pseuds/Herald_of_Naamah
Summary: In an alternate world, Kushina and Kurama manage to talk and learn much about each other, creating a very different dynamic that snowballs through generations as Minato realizes he has to accept two partners.





	1. Chapter 1

The young red-headed ward of Konoha was not exactly what one could call a perfect princess. More often then not, actually, Kushina Uzumaki was getting herself into trouble and acting rowdy. Some chalked it up to her extensive chakra could; some said it was her geneology. Others put it down to a thing they refused to name, the demon bound into her soul. Perhaps it was the perfect mixture of all three. Yet the truth remained that Kushina was not a model child and never would be.

Aged thirteen and four months, Kushina was a Benin in the ninja core of the Leaf Village. She was pretty enough, but had well earned her reputation as the red-hot habanero. Only one boy actually paid her any attention as a girl- and she wasn't upset by their per se- but sometimes she just wanted to be recognized as a girl. It was rare...

Daydreaming had brought her to an underground network of tunnels. She walked slowly, wondering what idea had led to this imagery. She vaguely felt as though she was asleep but that didn't quite make sense in her mind based on the way she felt here. She was considering the possibilities when she came upon the shed.

"Hello?" She came up to the front, wondering what such an object was doing in her mind. "Is there anyone here?"

The only response was a shuffling by in a nearby bush by the way she of the small building. Kushina moved up to investigate, a kunai at the ready...

"Yip!"

Kushina turned in a circle, head cocking as she investigated the sweet quiet sound. She found herself drawn towards a bush beside the hovel, the last ne green piece in the area. She bent down and pulled the leaves apart to reveal a small fox vixen, frightfully thin and with a barbed collar around her neck. Her paw came up to bat it, then she turned to Kushina and yowled again.

"Awe. Poor thing."

The fox turned its head toward her, eyes meeting, and wagged its tails. All nine of them. Kushina giggled as it tickled her hand and started to inspect the collar. The vixen licked the girl's hand, nuzzling playfully yet also somehow imploring. "Mreow?" The near feline questioning sound came out clearly as the fox begged for aid.

"You must be hurting," Kushina murmured. She fumbled at the collar. "Let's get this off, shall we?"

The vixen looked at the girl with narrowing eyes as Kushina fingered the latches. They were old, broken... and then Kushina saw the seals on the latches. Very familiar seals. Her hand went unthinkingly to her stomach, where a matching one graced her skin.

"Oh," she whispered under her breath, placing the fox on the ground.

"Well." The animal shifted, turning piece by piece into a girl of Kushina's age. "I had hoped you would be successful at removing the binding."

Kushina looked at the girl, jaw dropping. "You're Kyubi," she noted.

"That is only a title," was the correction. "I prefer..." The girl paused here, considering her options. "I prefer you do not refer to me at all if you are of no use to me."

Kushina pouted. "But I'm just thirteen," she noted. "Maybe I can learn..."

"Then I might tell you my name." The girl watched as Kushina's smile brightened. "When you have a purpose." The face fell again; Kushina knew she was being manipulated it somehow didn't mind terribly much.

"Can I..." Kushina hesitated, then bit her lip. "Can I come back and visit you again?"

The girl sighed heavily. "Do what you want," she noted.

"It's just... this is my mind, Kushina started. I'd imagine- doesn't it... get... lonely here? Wouldn't you want a little company?"

"Pfft." That's what the fox-girl said. But something in her eyes as she turned and transformed back into the vixen belayed the truth. She was bored if nothing else, and maybe- just maybe- this could be the start of a friendship.

It would be several more years before that would become a reality. The image of the girl the fox projected aged with Kushina as she moved from a genin to chunin, and at eighteen she finally learned the name of her friend: Kurama.

And then they became something more than just friends.


	2. Chapter 2

Some moments make a lifetime.

Some are negative in make up: her first kills, learning her home village was gone and her family with it. Being stuck with the hatred of the villagers. Eating peppers...

Some are positive: earning her headband, being told she had made chunin...

"I love you."

Kushina grinned wildly as Minato held her close and whispered that truth in her ear, heart fluttering as she felt him follow the words up with a kiss deposited on her collarbone. Shivers ran down her spine, warming that place inside of her, and her body tingled in joy and happiness.

"Say it again," she whispers.

Minato pulls her closer into his arms and repeats the words, accompanying kiss and all. Kushina lets a soft sigh erupt from her lips in joy.

To be replaced by trepidation. She should never have let it get this far.

"Will you..." Minato started, but Kushina put a finger up.

"Before you ask me anything else we need to talk," Kushina begged, taking him by the hand. "I want you to understand who I am."

The red-head guided her boyfriend into the alley behind the ramen shop. He looked uncertain, uncomfortable, as she looked into his eyes. She kissed him gently, then closed her eyes and put her hands around her middle to begin lifting her shirt.

"Kushi, I don't think..."

Kushina grabbed a cheek as he turned away, pulling it to look down. "Look, Minato! What do you see?"

Kushina closed her eyes, not wanting to see his horror-filled expression. He was a seal master after all, he'd recognize the markings quickly and probably leave. There is silence quite suddenly- maybe he just left?

Then she felt his hands, exploring her belly, touching with a gentle fervor.

"Who did this work?"

Kushina reddens as his hands keep exploring the seal. Slowly, almost a whisper, she manages to say, "My grandfather, I'm told. I think."

Minato strokes the edges again. "It's elegant," he notes.

"Do you..." Kushina gulped, gathering courage. "Can you tell what it's for?"

The blonde nodded slowly. "Is it..?" Pausing, searching for words, he settled on, "Is it painful to talk about?"

Kushina shook her head, chuckling at the voice down inside that sighed, "Why does everyone think I would want to hurt my Kushi-chan?"

Minato gestured back into the ramen stand's sitting room. Changing their order to go, he watched as the five ramen bowls went into take-away containers and then into a bag which Kushina happily grabbed. She felt lighter somehow, skipping g down to Minato's apartment and slipping in the door. With it shit though he did not seem to care about the dinner they brought home, instead pulling her shirt all the way off. In another setting it might have been romantic as he got on his knees in front of her, but his hands went to inspecting the seal again and she had to roll her eyes.

"Do you want to meet her?" she asked.

Minato's eyes widened. "Her? As in... the kyubi? How..? Why..?"

Before he had a chance to really protest, Kushina took a deep breath. One arm wrapped around her lover, bringing him in so close their foreheads touched; the other grasped his hand and flattened it, palm against the seal. She concentrated on his chakra, on feeling his presence, and then pulled his mind and hers inward ever so slightly in a dance she'd rehearsed dozens of times.

The mindscape was not the same as when Kushina was a child. There were rolling hills and forests, streams- a world within her head, but unpopulated in these far recesses. A beautiful three story house say in the middle of the lush grasses, rising so that the roof kissed the trees. It had no gardens, instead reveling in the wilds, but a few window boxes held fragrant lavender. Along the edges grew luscious amounts of natural foxtail brush.

And in the front of the home, leaning on the doorstop, a woman roughly Kushina's age glaring daggers at the duo.

"What is HE doing here?" the woman growled, the sound seeming more animalistic than human.

"I wanted you two to meet."

The growl turned into a pout. "Kushi..."

Minato approached and gave a bow. "Might I ask your name, kind lady?" The ears on the woman perked, making their inhuman nature more obvious. Nine tails twitched under her skirts in cautious delight.

"My name," she commands, "is my own secret."

"Kurama!"

While the fox-woman's eyes flared, Minato's softened. "Kurama. That's beautiful."

Kurama's demeanor changed, a smile painting itself across her face at the flattery Minato barely knew he was giving. "And you must be Minato. Kushi-chan speaks highly of you."

The young man bows, cautiously taking her hand and giving the top a kiss. An almost girlish blush crossed Kurama's cheeks before receding, noticed only by her current lover Kushina.

In time the mindscape had improved with the girl's friendship, and eventually their consideration for each other blossomed into something more substantial and... real. For the first time in centuries, Kurama had truly FELT, and that had been something. Now it left her open, raw. Vulnerable to charms- such as Minato's clumsy awe. Luckily, he would never dream of harming such an amazing creature. Which is why Kushina trusted him.

And very soon, Kurama did as well.


	3. Chapter 3

Minato was a quick study in most things, but Kurama and Kushina together mystified him. All his sensibilities were flooded by the women, and when they were near he was so full of them he could barely breathe. They just took up every part of him, leaving room for nobody else.

In return, he has to be larger than life to remain himself.

Night is his favorite time of day though. Not because of the stars or the quiet, but because he gets to curl up with Kushina and when they relax, they can travel together to see Kurama- or Ku-chan, as he has taken to calling the foxish female avatar of the nine tails. Tonight she sees him and flings herself around him, a kiss on either cheek before doing the same to Kushina.

"Is there a special occasion I was unaware of?" Minato asks, looking around. The bubbliness, the sheer force of joy... it was not quite his Ku-chan.

Kushina is the one who grins. Frighteningly.

"There is," the red head admits. "I'm pregnant!"

Minato feels his heart climb into his throat. His election as hokage- the secret marriage... it all pales in comparison to this moment. "A child?" The words sound odd, unreal. "Our child?"

Kurama was the one to nod. "All three of us!" she excitedly exclaimed.

"Pardon?"

Kurama grew excitable, wrapping her arms around Minato's neck. "Well you and Kushi put so much into the little one I wanted to be a part of him too. So I added something special. I... infused the mating with a little bit of my chakra, so he's partly mine as well."

Minato found his mind reeling with all the possibilities. A child with his wits, Kushina's ability, and the chakra of a bijuu would be incredibly powerful, and raising him might prove a daunting task. His head swam with the possibilities, the realizations of what was to come. Strategies flowed unbidden to his mind of how to train such a boy...

It almost made his news, which seemed so important before, seem dull.

"The hokage is going to have a son." The words played on his lips, feeling not at all as uncomfortable as it had first felt like it should be. He couldn't help but smile widely as he looked up at the stunned women before him.

"Ho- hoka-ge?" Kushina stammered. Minato had barely nodded when arms wrapped around him from both sides and his wife added her piece. "Congratulations Min-kun!"

"At least they recognize talent."

Minato could barely contain his excitement. The trio spent the night there in Kushina's mindscape celebrating and wrapping around each other. Kurama was especially passionate in her attentions, equally among the other two. As they rested in afterglow he ran his fingers through her hair, watching as her nose scrunched and her body shivered at his touch.

An idea glimmered in his mind, one he had before but that got stronger now.

When he wakes (truly wakes) he kisses Kushina on the forehead and pulls the edge of her shirt up on her sleeping form. She stirs slightly at the gentle touch, disturbed but not yet to the point of waking.

The design of her seal is beautiful. Elegant. He could spend a lifetime analyzing it, but he does not want to do so.

What he wants right now is to break it.


	4. Chapter 4

"It's ok Kushina," Minato whispered in his wife's ear. "Forget about everything but me and Kyu and just push. All will be alright. Promise."

Kushina screamed out again, unable to help the sounds erupting from her throat. "I can't," she whispered as she shook her head.

"Yes, you can," the red-headed Kurama promised as she held the other woman writhed under her touch. The fox woman held Kushina's wrists taut, kissing her partner's forehead. "Women have done this for millennia and will for generations to come. You won't be undone by this."

Minato found his heart doing flips. True, childbirth was very natural and even normal, but women died during labor every day. He wished, not for the first time, he had brought a healer instead of trusting to Kurama's midwifery, but the fox had been very adamant and more than a little persuasive. Which led to the trio alone in the woods with only three guards outside the door, each a trusted friend.

"Minato! Movement from the south borders!"

The newly minted hokage shuddered at his oldest friend's voice and looked up from Kushina's side to Kurama. The foxish woman silently nodded and rose from her place. "Show me," she demanded of Hiashi, footsteps taking her outside the deserted cabin they had taken over for the childbirth at Sarutobi's prompting.

It was a credit to the Professor of Shinobi that he barely flinched at the demand. Kurama flew out the door and put her eyes to the direction the the ninja pointed out. Scanning the horizon showed her the images she was hunting... and what they represented. As soon as she realized what she was seeing her head shook as she shuddered.

"Uchiha."

"Why would they have followed us?" Sarutobi asked.

Kurama considered the implications, but shook her head. "I'm not sure," she stated, though inside her gut wrenched. "We may need Kakashi to..." Her thought process was cut off by a single, loud cry from inside, making her smile. "You'll excuse me?"

Before the old ninja could reply she was off like a shot, in the cozy cabin. Minato stood beside an exhausted, tired Kushina holding the little blonde bundle. When he saw Kurama he grinned even wider, turning the blankets to display the child. "Kushina already named him," he announced happily, to which the fox just nodded. "You knew?"

"Naruto is a fine name."

Kurama beamed with a smile even as Minato nodded with glee. "I didn't realize you were a fan as well."

Kurama nodded her head. "It is your father's greatest work."

Minato smiled at the reminder. He'd been close to his father since childhood, proud to be the offspring of a sanin, but the man had another side. Jiraiya was a great ninja and also an incredible writer, his stories captivating villages around the world. At one time they had been saucy tales, a lurid series called Icha Icha; as he matured and his son grew, Jiraiya had changed to very different tales- ones Minato could be proud to have written for him. The first and arguably best was "The Tale of the Gutsy Ninja"- Naruto. Kushina had loved it as well, and now it would be made real.

Minato knew his chances of having his father active in his life had actually been fairly minuscule. His mother, a woman Jiraiya never spoke of, had left Konoha while the ninja was on a mission and Minato had become a ward. It was only Sarutobi's realization of the child's patronage that had caused the Professor to halt putting the boy in an orphanage and waiting to present the baby to the white-haired spymaster. Jiraiya had taken that moment to redirect part of his life's work and divert it into caring for his son- a thing Minato would ever be grateful occurred. Right now he knew his father was nearby, eyes as open to protect this family once more from outside forces of cruelty...

"The Uchiha!" Kurama exclaimed, rushing back out.

"What?"

Kurama filled Minato in about the situation, watching as ire built in his eyes. Then the fox grinned and made her promise: "I will take care of this for you, my Min-kun."

Minato went to protest but the baby in his arms cooed, bringing him back to reality. He was a father and a hokage after all- and if he could do this, have a bijuu work in his name...

"I will not force you," Minato promised. "Either way. Do as you will, my love."

Kurama just grinned at the comment, her grin widening to show her fangs clipping the bottom lip. Her eyes glowed to light red, her breathing excited as she growled and leapt into the air. As she did the feminine form dropped to give way to the giant, slender fox; the bushy tails flowed on the ground behind her as she moved towards the edge of their clearing to the enemies, smiling with a near evil intent obvious.

"Your new friend is interesting," Jiraiya mentioned as he approached his son. "Might I meet my grandson?"

Even as Minato brought his father back into the cabin he clarified, "She is not a friend, you know. She is so much more. In a way, I am married to her as I am Kushina."

Jiraiya cocked his head. "Is that so?" The grin that accompanied his action was rather transparent.

"Will that be a problem?"

Jiraiya just grinned, widely. "My boy, I'm so proud of you for finally realizing the potential of multiple women. I have never been so happy!"

Minato opened his mouth to protest just before shutting it tightly. Contradicting his father, his mentor, would be useless. Instead he just cracked his neck and looked towards where the kyubi had dashed...

Meanwhile, the Uchiha was having a very bad day. Madara had expected to find a weakened bijuu, susceptible to his eyes. He stared at the giant fox before him, willingvthe demon to bend to his needs. Kurama just laughed.

"What do you think you are doing?"

"I am... bringing you... under my control."

The fox laughed. "That only works with something still bound, Uchiha. At least in some way. I am no longer shackled to the Uzumaki in such a way."

"How..?" Madara's voice faltered. "The ritual..."

"No longer holds me." Kurama bared her fangs. "Now leave my family alone."

With that commentary, Kyu-chan filled her lungs and blew out a hot fire of breath, enveloping the legendary ninja. He was not fully prepared, robes catching alight as he summoned jutsu to his fingers. Kurama just hugged again, the heat designed to engulf...

So ended the greatest fight of night of ninja history, heading near to the village in a brilliant display of fire and wind. Kurama fluttered the wind around her, letting her fox form shrink away to the feminine form she now favored. Kyu did her best to draw Madara away from the population but the wreckage was still near endless. The fox had a speed and stealth that was unrivaled however, and the ninja found himself quite outclassed in the end.

So the most horrific night in Konoha's history came to pass, as two legends fought through their streets. And then people watched as Madara fell, his aims over as they truly began, a young woman with tail and fox ears standing over him a brief moment only before she left with a swiftness even the ninja envied.


	5. Chapter 5

Minato took a deep breath and looked out the window of the hokage tower, placing the hat of office firmly on his head as he moved down the staircase to the crowd. At the bottom he saw the two red-headed women awaiting him, causing a smile to spread across his face.

“Ready, Lord Hokage?” Kurama asked, a foxish grin on her beautiful face to light up the room.

“Let’s make history.” He kissed both women gently on the cheek, taking one by each hand and heading into the balcony with them at his side.

Outside, the village had gathered. After the sounds and strange sights of the previous nights they were thankful for the address of their hokage, but he could hear murmurs as they saw the women at his side. He raised a hand, heart no discussion pause, and cleared his throat.

“People of Konoha,” he began, “today marks a momentous occasion. I first call you here to introduce a new member of our village: my son, Naruto.” He reaches to Kushina, who handed him the child. Minato raised the child in the air slightly for all to see, and the boy looked out wide-eyes at the crowd as they started cheering loudly. Minato couldn’t help his smile as he handed the child back to his mother and continued his announcements.

“Naruto is my son by marriage, a marriage I have kept silent for the safety of my beloved. Yet now I happily announce Kushina Uzumaki as my chosen wife, the lady of both Konoha and Uzu.”

The crowd cheered again, then paused as Kurama stepped forward and grinned, her fox ears and pointed teeth visible to the front rows of the people.

“Konoha owes much to the land of the waves,” he noted, taking the fox woman by the hand. “Not the least had been the bijuu, the kyubi, which was trapped in the chakra coils of the Uzumaki clan. It has been my honor to examine the seals that caught this magnificent creature and choose to find a way for it to best serve our village- as a shinobi, and as a strong leader and voice of reason for us all to hear.” The cheers were less obvious now, subdued, but still present. “And keeping to the traditions of Uzu, I will take the woman Kurama, the nine-tails incarnate, as my second wife.”

Kurama straightened majestically, arcing her back and flashing her teeth again. She then bowed slightly to the village and clearly stated, “I stand with my lord husband, the hokage.”

The response was silence. Then, one by one, the crowd cheered loudly and clearly. They were shocked, yet carefully optimistic about the possibilities. The kyubi itself was a ninja of their village, a kunoichi of high caliber willing to aide them. Minato put a hand around his shoulder, smiling wide at the reaction...

“My family, Konoha, will be at your disposal,” Minato proclaimed. “In celebration, I ask you all to join us in an evening of joy. Starting tomorrow, we will open a new era of peace with our neighbors AND the bijuu we have previously imprisoned.”

He stepped back to the raucous applause, finding his advisors at the entry: Shikaku, whose fast mind had already interpreted his needs, and his oldest friend- Hiashi Hyuga, who was puzzled in his blank eyes.

“You’ve started something,” the Hyuga head noted grimly. “Do you intend to finish it?”

Minato wrapped an arm around either woman. They had determined that since Kurama had been a part of Kushina when he married the kunoichi he had in turn been bound to the kyubi as well, but he still looked forward to the official ceremony they had decided to have in a month. He kissed the fox-woman, then his official wife, and nodded to his oldest friends. “The bitter end,” he assured almost darkly. “Whatever it takes.”

“Cloud was offering a meeting,” Hiashi notes. “I would not have mentioned it but that it seems a good start if we are going to make a play for unification.”

“As good a place as any,” Shikaku acknowledged. “I’ll set up the meeting, if our lord hokage agrees.”

Minato nodded his assent, thinking of Kumo and what this could mean. “I want to be wary,” he cautioned. “I am committed to peace, but our old foes may not be. We have to ensure the safety of our people.”

The comment was doomed to be more telling than he could ever have known.


	6. Chapter 6

The toddler Naruto was much more frantic than baby Naruto had been, as though on his eighteenth month precisely someone had turned on a faucet of incalculable energy. He was running, not walking, babbling, and doing everything he could to mimic the hand motions his father used on a daily basis. Kushina was at her wit’s end, while Kurama could only laugh at the displays while explaining her chakra gave him an endless well of energy that would stay with him until he was old enough to learn control. Kushina found, therefore, the only thing she would ever regret about her relationship with the fox.

Now that Kurama was pregnant, however - a quirk of her human form that Minato had chosen not to question any more than his first wife- she was less able to handle the excess energy. Which left Kushina to tend for the boy. Which meant she needed help.

“Thank you so much, Inako,” Kushina sighed. “He’s a bit much for me alone.”

The Yamanaka matriarch smiled as she looked down where her very young daughter played with the Uzumaki boy. “She’s a bit of a handful herself.”

Ino, the Yamanaka’s daughter, had bright hair similar to Naruto and a smile as mischievous to match. The two spoke in the language of toddlers, the half formed words coming across clearly only to each other’s they played with building blocks between them. Kushina stretched out and relaxed, her friend beside her as they watched the young ones together. It seemed they calmed each other well enough.

Kushina was about to make another comment when Minato ran in quickly, breathless. “Kushina! It’s time!”

“Time?”

“Kurama... the kit...”

Kishina’s mind raced. It was only six months. “It’s too early!”

Maybe nato frowned. “I know. But she is very certain.”

Kushina turned to her friend. “Yamanaka-San, I am so sorry to have to ask it...”

The blonde scion of the Yamanakas waved her hand. “No worries,” she asserted. “I’ll take care of him for you.”

Kushina blushes. “I’m so sorry,” she started. “I just...”

“You’re worried. It’s alright, Kushina.” The blonde looked at the two children and smiled. “Besides, I wouldn’t want to try separating them right now.”

Kushina took a moment to watch the duo. Naruto was smiling and chatting in baby talk to Ino, and the two were happily chasing each other in circles. “Neither would I,” The red head admitted, taking her husband’s hand and exiting quickly. “I’ll send someone to collect him soon!”

Kushina ran to follow her husband, her friend looking after shaking her head. The hokage‘ swift didn’t that no further, hurrying to find her fellow sister to help her through the birthing process and all that came afterwards...

As it turned out, she need not have worried.


	7. Chapter 7

Minato spent quite a while debating how to handle the Hyuga situation.

Hiashi had come to him quietly, in confidence, to express his displeasure at the existence of the mark that had been in his family for generations. He was angered to see it on his brother, and loathe to add it to his nephew. It should have been a simple thing to declare it anathema, but traditions ran strong among the Hyuga clan and the elders made it difficult to complete the transition in the way their leader required...

Which led to his request for a former teammate now.

“Will you back me, Hokage?”

Minato thought about the options. Hiashi needed him to assist in order to gain support against the abominable practice. Minato wanted the seal to go away, as was his right, but that didn’t make the political climate any less dicey. To over-rule a clan tradition would take finesse and created a dangerous precedent.

“It is slavery,” Minato noted. “If I call it as much and force your hand what will your clan say?”

Hiashi shrugged. “The elders are unpredictable in this. They may accept it, or fight, depending on their mood. I can’t even get agreement day to day.”

“That could be a problem.” Minato closed his eyes in concentration. There had to be a way to make this work. “What does your brother have to say about the situation?”

“My brother?”

Minato nodded. “He is the one most affected. Branded by a technicality of minutes, himself and his son destined to be hidden by it... what is his desire, Hyuga Hiashi?”

“I don’t know.” The admittance was hushed, quiet. Embarrassed. Hiashi has not thought to ask the one person who had most say. “I will... have my men bring him here.”

“Have a drink while we wait.”

It took most of an hour. The two men were speaking through the time, mostly about unimportant items. Naruto. Hiashi’s daughter Hinata. Neji. By the time Hizashi entered, they were chuckling over the latest glass of sake and looking over a map of the Hyuuga compound in definite interest.

“Lord Hokage?”

“Hyuga Hizashi,” Minato greeted. “Come. We value your input for a very important decision. Please tell me- if we could avoid this seal you wear being placed upon your successors, what would you feel?”

The ensuing discussion was long and arduous, political and yet very personal. Hiashi came to a very clear plan of action both his brother and hokage could back, and in the end the trio struck another drink together as they prepared to head into the future...

Meanwhile, a very different meeting was happening at the Hyuga manor.

“Hinata! Do not chew on Ino’s fingers!”

The dark-haired girl looked up from where she was nibbling the other toddler’s hand slightly and gave a white, guilty gaze. “Sowey moma,” she noted, letting the fingers go. “Play patta?” she asked the blonde.

Ino smiled and held her hands for a game of patty cake, the two girls joy in and laughing as they clapped. Their mothers sat nearby watching and relaxing, having a long awaited tea while a young Naruto climbed nearby into his best friend’s mother’s lap anxiously. Unexpectedly, he grabbed the cup of the Hyuga matriarch and swatted it to the floor.

“Bad.”

The Hyuga matriarch looked at the boy in shock while Yamanaka berated him. Then both women looked down to see the slight bubbling of the liquid.

And that was how Naruto stopped an assassination attempt on the Hyuga matriarch and endeared himself to the clan.


	8. Chapter 8

Ino and Naruto became inseparable by the time they were four, their mothers spending many hours together and letting the children bond consistently.

The ultimate result was that the two young ones had a strange bond. Not just that they enjoyed each other’s company, but that it seemed proximity calmed the two normally hyperactive kids. When they were not together some strange connection told them the other’s mindset and made them agitated when the other was feeling poorly. Kurama had chuckled when she learned of their bond, saying it was a secret she would explain to the two when they were old enough to understand and nobody else.

It was not a bad thing, all things considered. Ino was even excited and happy when going through her preliminary movement training with her father indicating she was anxious to keep up with her best friend. And keeping up with Naruto was... not easy.

The blonde son of Konoha was a bundle not only of childish energy but also chakra; as such he learned at a very young age how to use and manipulate it. He could siphon the crackling energies, expend them... all at the watchful eye of his mothers and father. By the time he was ready for the academy, he already knew the three required jutsu out of self preservation.

And so did Ino, to keep up with him.

As the delegation from Kumo made to leave, the two were walking with a Kurama through the city, learning their home as only a fox can teach- by smells. They were passing through each area blindfolded, enjoying the ‘game’, and had just caught a whiff of a wonderful treat.

“Mama Kyu,” Naruto asked sweetly in his most manipulative voice, “can I have a cinnamon bun?”

Kurama looked at her blindfolded son and chuckled. “A cinnamon bun?” she asked coldly.

Naruto nodded. “We are at the bakery. I can smell the afternoon pies, and I would like a cinnamon roll.”

Proud, the woman with foxtail unbound the eyes of the duo and went up to the counter. Within minutes all three had a sticky, fluffy bun and were happily chatting. It was nearly an hour later that Kurama turned to pay and the two children moved.

“Did you hear that Naruto?”

The whispered boy nodded. “It’s coming from the open path.”

The two walked quietly so as not to draw attention, noticing the gates of the Hyuga center mooing nearby. They almost dismissed their worry until they heard a muffled cry nearby...

Turning the corner, they saw a dark figure cloaked in shadow. The small cry came from a bag at his shoulder, though to Ino and Naruto it was obvious that within that sack would be a child their own age. Naruto reacted quickly, his reflexes gaining him the upper hand as his young body flung at the much older ninja. He did not aim to hurt the man, not initially; he just wanted one thing: for him to drop his burden. Which he did on the second kick out of sheer surprise at his attacker.

Which allowed Ino to rush and open said sack to reveal Hinata Hyuga.

“I have you Hina,” the girl promised, putting her arms around her shivering friend.

Hinata shuddered into her friend’s shoulders, whimpering as she heard the fighting in the near distance. Ino cocked her head and reached into her pocket to pull out a bit of the cinnamon bun and held it out to the uncertain girl.

“I... for me?”

Ino nodded, keeping her compatriot from turning and seeing Naruto battling for her- and now his own- life. He was working quickly with his basic justus, the enemy unable to survive the onslaught. He was out of breath though, and Ino feared for him...

“Enough.” The commanding, harsh voice stopped all movement, including from the masked attacker. “Naruto. Come here.”

Naruto turned towards his mother with a lowered head. “Ne, sorry mama Kyu?”

Kurama should her head. “You did nothing wrong,” she promised. Then she grabbed the enemy ninja in her arms in a flurry of movement before the fear came down. “Head home. Tell dad to meet me at his office.”

“Dattebayo.” With that, he was in his way.

Kurama then spoke to the blonde Yamanaka girl. “Get Hinata home and have her father join me at the hokage’s office. I’ll be there shortly.”

Ino didn’t wait to be asked twice. She scurried quickly to her feet with her black-haired charge and ran the entire way to the car mound. Meanwhile, she could hear the satisfied snarls behind her that still reverberates in her mind...

The growls of the kyubi.

Minato in the meantime was dealing with his own headache. A single file sat in front of him with a single word written on the front: Root. His blood chilled as his hand flipped the edge of the pages. He was still torn on the secret initiative but in the end he was more comfortable knowing the project was under his thumb than wondering what was going on behind his back.

He was called snider good options when his son ran in breathless. “Mama Kyu... captive... bringing this... soon...” he then stopped and inhaled slowly as he was taught. “Kidnapping attempt. On Hina-Chan.”

Minato moved with a sudden will to his feet as, surprised, he barely managed to ask “Who?”

It was then that Kurama walked into the room with a stretch. “That answer is complicated,” she explained. “Kumo.”

Minato’s eyes widened. “Naruto-kun, please tell Mama Kushi I will not be home for dinner.”

“Hai, tou-san.”

When Naruto has left the room, Minato stood and stepped forward towards Kurama as she shut the door. “Kumo?” he asked.

“He was not in a position to lie about it.”

Minato shrugged off the shudder that came down his spine. Kurama wrapped her arms around him and planted a kiss on his cheek. The hokage let out a sigh and rested his head on her shoulder as he asked, “Is there enough of him left to prove it?”

The fox-woman nodded. “I made sure of it. He was delivered to the interrogators on my way up for official processing.”

Minato chuckled. “Orochimaru take him in personally?”

Orochimaru has been a difficulty in the past several years since Minato had taken over the seat of hokage. His experiments had seemed to be going out of control for a time before he came and asked for an apprentice and an oversight committee. Minato had been uncomfortable at first in pairing the genius with Danzo’s strong desires for power but it seemed they were working well together...

“ROOT will be seeing to this. Personally.”

Minato almost felt sorry for the man. Almost.


	9. Chapter 9

“Do I have to go, ka-san?”

Kushina looked into her son’s eyes, the pupils widening slightly as she asked, “Don’t you want to go spend more time with your friends, Naru-kun?”

“I...” He paused, thinking. “But Kurama-ka.”

Kushina smiled at her son’s maturity. “You’re concerned about Ka-San and the baby?” When the boy nodded sheepishly she explained, “I will be with her the whole time Naruto.”

“Promise, Mama Kushi?”

Kushina raised a hand somberly and stated, “Cross my heart. Now get ready for school.”

Naruto grinned wildly and jumped from the couch. “I’m going to be the best ninja ever, dattebayo!”

Kushina patted his head, the other hand handing him his bag with lunch and his tools. “Of course you will, little love.” She kissed him gently and headed to the door as he ran like wind. “Of course you will.”

Kushina get her throat swell up as she watched her son go, but a pair of strong arms surrounded her. She turned into Kurama’s arms and leaned in with tears in her eyes...

“It’s hard watching them grow up, isn’t it?” Kurama asked, a hand on her swollen belly.

“Is it always so hard?” Kushina asked as she set her head against the other woman’s chest. “I feel like I’m losing him.”

“Kits are never easy to let go,” Kurama admitted. She kissed Kushina deeply and added, “I’m sure he’ll be very happy though.”

Meanwhile, Naruto was excitedly finding a seat in his classroom. Ino ecstatically joined next to him, an arm around his shoulder, while on his other side Hinata sheepishly approached.

“Ano, may I sit with you two?” she asked, pressing her hands together quietly.

Ino immediately brightened. “Please do, Hina-chan.” She scooted so that she was in the middle, sandwiched between her best friends. “Are you ready for class?”

“Dattebayo! This is going to be great.”

“Ummm... I think so?”

The trio started taking out their books when a pink-haired individual slid in behind them. “Argh!” she groaned. “Where are my books?”

Naruto turned to look her in the eyes, his jaw dropping. “Sakura?”

The pink haired girl responded with a sigh. “What?”

“I... you aren’t...” Here he stalled, biting his lip. “Never mind.”

“Are you saying because I’m not from a ninja family I don’t belong in your academy? Or that I’m a small weakling? Or just don’t have the concentration for this line of work? Do you?”

Naruto put his hands up. “Ney, ney, just you never seemed interested...”

Sakura sighed and lashed out, hitting him square in the jaw with a cry of “Cha!”

Hinata’s eyebrow furrowed. “Who is this girl?”

Ino was rolling her eyes. “Naruto-kun’s annoying little sister.”

“He.” Sakura scoffed derisively. “He wishes.”

“Mama Kushi helps her learn things. Health, I thought.”

“Ninjas have health too!” Sakura shouted as the door opened.

Inside walked a well-dressed, slender figure with thick black hair down past his shoulders. “My name is Orochimaru-San,” he announced, “and you are all a waste of my time.”

Three prospective students burst out crying. One left. The others looked at him dumbstruck...

“We’re ninja! We’ll make it worthy your time!” Ino called at the older man.

Orochimaru sighed a long, suffering gasp. He had been hoping to get out of this duty, thrown at him by his hokage as punishment for not taking his student seriously and prematurely ending her training. Obviously that was not going to work so he rolled his eyes and his sleeves.

“Open the initial primer. Be ready for a quiz when I return.”

The unwilling teacher fluttered out of the classroom and towards the back exit. He had been forced into this by a bad bet, told his mind was needed for the next generation, but this was horrible. He’d rather take on a team, get an apprentice again... even after what happened with Anko... then deal with children of this tender age.

He was grumbling about his lot when a young man came a bit too near. Orochimaru paused and called out, “Hey, you there.”

“Yes, sir?”

Orochimaru looked over the man assessing. “Chunin Iruka?”

“Yes, Orochimaru-Sama.”

“Come with me.” He chuckled and extended a finger. “I have a use for you.”

Iruka followed, checking his watch. “Will this take long? I don’t want to be late...”

“I will clear your schedule,” Orochimaru promised. “Priority mission.”

“Yes, sir!” The chunin grinned widely. “What do we have, sir? A-Rank? S-Rank? Cloud or Rock..?”

“Worse,” Orochimaru assured.

“Wow,” was Iruka’s response... Then he saw where they were going. “Wait...”

“Children terrify me,” was the Dan in’s response as he walked in and gestured. “It’s all yours- Iruka-Sensei.”

The talking to later in the hokage’s office was extreme. Minato had Orochimaru and his former team on one side, and Danzo with his former team on the other.

“Chunin Iruka is a highly coveted, valuable asset I have been training for ROOT for years!” Danzo grumbled loudly. “For this... this snake to come in and reassign him is totally unacceptable!”

Orochimaru rolled his neck and let his tongue flick. “Maybe I saw something you did not, Master Danzo.”

Hiruzen scoffed. “More likely you were getting out of an unfavorable assignment of his own.”

“Is he really the type for that?” Jiraiya asked Minato, eyeing his student skeptically. “He says he saw something, he did.”

Orochimaru nodded emphatically. “His patience makes him a natural, and he has the skills to spare. Most instructors of that age group start as chunin, as is Iruka.” Here the snake master cleared his voice. “I did the sensible things gm when I saw his true talents being squandered...”

“Squandered!?!?”

Orochimaru sighed as he layed out all of the upcoming chunin’s strengths and weaknesses. He went on for several minutes before Danzo finally shrugged and yelled, “Fine,”’before heading out of the office with his former teammates behind him.

It was Sarutobi who paused at the door and turned. “I know you just made that up,” he admitted, “but it was well spoken enough I will concede.”

When the old man had exited, Minato glared at the snake sannin. “Jiraiya, Tsunade, give us a moment?”

“Of course.”

When the two had left, Minato looked in the older man’s eyes and grumbled. “I know we have had our differences, but I will always appreciate that you stayed when we needed you. But what you did today was as out of line as dropping your apprentice!!”

Orochimaru sighed. He’d been close to leaving years ago, before Minato had Danzo talk to him about ROOT and it’s true designs. Since then he had been helping slowly, becoming head up f the research division. He had been entertaining the thought of full human experimentation before presented with the evidence doing so was actually counterintuitive...

Anko had been the only one who got under his skin. The young girl was flippant, non-chalant, and never high on manners. He’d spent almost a decade now trying to put some authority into the girl, but to no avail. His only hope had been to finish her training, leading him to force a promotion to chunin that was well past time but still ill-advised.

“Hokage-Sama, I humbly suggest my motives much more humane. I simply know myself incapable of teaching.”

Minato sighed. “Alright. But you will have to help me with a... delicate matter in my family then.”

Orochimaru’s ears perked. “I’m listening.”

“My wife has been made aware of a distant cousin who has appeared. The cousin died leaving behind a child, a young girl named Karin.” He cleared his throat and added, “She’s Naruto‘s age, actually.”

Orochimaru sighed. “You want me to play babysitter to a child.”

“She’s in Grass.”

Orochimaru paused. “I see.”

Grass was not a bad land, nor technically an enemy. That being said, it was not exactly the friendliest of terms. “So you want me on a rescue mission?”

Minato considered. “Yes and no,” he admitted. “She is a young girl, but all the information I’m getting suggests she has a way with chakra. I want you to assess her on your travels.”

Orochimaru nodded. “I swear it shall be done.”


	10. Chapter 10

“Naruto-kun! Hurry up!”

The young boy jumped up and ran. “Mama Kyu?”

Minato held his hand out and nodded as the young boy ran to him. He turned to the two girls on either side and added, “Hinata, your mother wanted you to come as well.”

“Mama?”

“She has an announcement for you I think,” the Hokage clarified.

The two children jumped from their seats to follow the village leader to the hospital where Orochimaru had organized a wonderful group of medics and med-nin alike. They bypassed the main desk into the gynecological ward where Kushina stood grinning widely.

“Minato.”

His blue eyes shone with a mix he f excitement and fear. “Is she here yet?”

“Our daughter?” Kushina giggled. “No, there’s still time.”

Minato let go of his son’s hand. “Naruto, stay with Hina.”

Minutes later he was changed and neat to Kushina at the fox woman’s side. One grabbed each hand as she groaned below her breath, moaning at the pressure and pain. “I hate this part,” she murmured.

Kushina squeezed back on her hand soothingly. “I know love.”

Looking right at Minato, the fox mentioned, “This is all your fault.”

“I know love.”

Kurama grumbled again and cried out as the pain shot through again. She had born children before, of course, but never as a human...

“You’re coming along just fine,” a very calm and brave medic promised. “Just a few more hours...”

“Hours!?!”

The woman spoke a soothing coo and added, “You can’t rush these things, dear.”

“To hell with that,” Kyu remarked with a shout. “I’m not doing it this way.”

“What do you...”

Before the bewildered medic could say another word the woman on the table suddenly changed. Kurama let her tails fluff out, her ears perk, and her fur cover in a shimmer. She began to purr and then yip as her form became more and more like that of a true fox demon.

“Kyu-Chan...” Minato started.

“Don’t start with me.”

The demonic voice echoed, the medic running from the room as Kurama turned into a mostly vulpine figure and settled back on the bed.

“Better?” Kushina asked with a roll of her eyes.

Kurama managed a pout of, “Yes,” before growling in pain.

“Good then,” Kushina calmed. “Then push that kid out.”

Kurama sighed as she licked the jowls. “I have done this before you know.”

Kushina scratches her lover behind the ears. “I know love, but this one is mostly human because you stayed in our form the whole time. It isn’t going to be able to birth the way a demon can...”

“Watch me.” The Kyubi curled into a ball, then stretched at random. As she did, her whole body pushed, and a ball of bright orange chakra came out. “That’s why I changed a few seconds ago.”

The ball of chakra sputtered to the bed and opened, revealing a small bundle of bright blonde and orange fur. Then it uncurled as a tail, and little ears perked up, and Kushina squealed at her new daughter.

The tail and ears were foxlike, but the rest of her was perfectly human. Minato picked up the child and took her to the nurses for a clean up and check, beaming wildly.

“She’s precious,” Kushina noted excitedly.

Kurama chuckled low, her form returning more human. “You don’t mind the... features that come with how I birthed her?”

Kushina’s mouth dropped. “The tail and ears aren’t just a part of who you are?”

Kyu nodded. “But they didn’t need to be part of her...”

“Kyu, Love!” Minato walked in as Kushina jumped alongside her wife and held her. “If it’s a part of you, and you’re a part of her, then there is no concern except what she should be named.”

Kurama thought a moment and then whispered, “Keiko.”

Minato smiled in agreement. “I like that name.”

Kurama nodded happily. “One of the first humans I took up with was named Keiko. She was a bright point in a very dark time, and I want our daughter to be the same.”

Minato and Kushina nodded jointly, handing the bundle back to Kurama with a squeeze. “Then she shall be.”

Meanwhile, Naruto was sitting on a bench in the waiting room when a larger figure came over him. A sigh caused him to turn, seeing the whisp of long black bangs above white eyes of a Hyuga...

“Hi! I’m Naruto, one of Hinata’s classmates! What is your name?”

“Hmm? Oh, I’m Neji. I’m her cousin.”

The two clasped hands warmly. “What brings you here, Hyuga-San?”

“My uncle asked me over,” he admitted.

“What does he need you for?” Naruto wondered aloud. As he finished his sentence, Hinata came out from behind a door with a grin.

“He’s ready for you,” Hinata chirped.

Neji cracked his neck and blinked slowly. “What is this about?”

Hinata just smiled larger. “Just go talk to our fathers. They’ll explain.”

Neji humphed as he walked off, Hinata’s smile growing. “Have you seen her yet?”

“Mama Kyu?”

“No silly! Your sister!”

Naruto shook his head. “Ne, Mama Kushi hasn’t grabbed me yet.”

“Excited about being a brother?”

Naruto shrugged. “I guess...”

Hinata’s brow furrowed. “Guess?”

“She isn’t real yet, is she?”

Hinata thought about that a moment. “I think when your dad and mama made her she became real, didn’t she?”

Naruto nodded. “Yeah.” Brighter he smiled. “Yeah! I’m going to be the best big brother ever, dattebayo!”

Hinata was about to say something more but Kushina came out then and beckoned her son.

“I’ll be the best sister, too,” she whispered happily.

It would be the first of many promises she made.


	11. Chapter 11

Naruto would end up adoring his little sister Kai and became extremely protective very quickly. Kushina was glad of that, since it meant she had a bit more alone time with Minato...

Not that she was jealous of her time. Ever. And not that the alone time was used for peaceful times or cuddling. Far from it.

“We have to tell her,” Minato sighed.

“Hmm.” Kushina paused, thinking. “Do we?”

“I...” Minato felt his eyes close, head turning. “What is your solution?”

Kushina moved near his ear, whispering. “Root.”

“Root.”

Minato felt his eyebrows curl. When he had first taken over as Hokage, Kurama had begged to let her head the shadowy organization as much as Kushina had wanted it dissolved. Instead he had kept it under a close eye under Danzo’s leadership. It had thrived on the backs of the lonely and disowned, giving them a home. Danzo had done well for a covert group...

“I think we should have Danzo handle the issue with the Uchiha.”

Minato considered. “Root did bring us the evidence...” Here he hesitated. “Itachi, though...”

“May be young,” Kushina pointed out, “but he is a ninja. At least ask him- it’s his family, his future.”

Minato sighed and snapped a finger. Immediately, an Anbu came from the shadows and saluted. “Bring Itachi Uchiha to my office.”

“Hai, hokage-sama.”

That was how the Uchiha slaughter started.

Not with a scream, but a whisper in the dark...

Meanwhile, not far away, a different Uchiha was having his own complications.

Sasuke could have been a very different boy. His father tended to be harsh on both his sons, the tenderness to temper coming only from his mother, but the young boy instead took after his best friend’s family. He had spent so many nights with Shikamaru, resting under the stars or clouds and just talking and thinking, that the youngest Uchiha had gained a vice wholly odd for his family.

Laziness.

“Troublesome,” Sasuke mumbled as he looked up at the pink-haired girl bowing before his mother. He could tell she was difficulty waiting to happen. Which is why he almost bolted when they started towards him.

“Sasuke. You know Sakura... and Karin.”

Sasuke pulled himself off the ground, looking to the girls on either side of his mother. “And?” he asked.

His mother’s eyes rolled and her mouth opened to say something, but the rosette girl broke in first. “Learn some respect, Baka! I’m a lady.”

Sasuke tolled hs eyes. “Troublesome lady.”

“Sasuke! Respect is...”

“Earned.”

Karin seemed to consider this. “We’ve been classmates all year. We haven’t earned it?”

Sasuke shook his head. “You both ride on the Uzumaki name,” he noted. “Never seen anything impressive from either of you.”

Karin considered that, but Sakura grumbled angrily. She had been staying with the Uzumaki home for several years, and admitted to being good friends with their kids... but the insinuation she was using that tie broke her a bit. She spun and kicked, dropping the startled Uchiha to the ground. His mother stammered, apologizing, as he looked up with a smile.

Feisty. Beautiful.

“How about this?” the rosette proclaimed, foot to his throat.

Sasuke raised his hands in a yield even as his young mind doubled over itself. He had seen, for a split second, the soft feminine panties under her skirt. His cheeks blushed as his body realized it enjoyed what it saw.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the village, a white-haired man stood up from the table where he signed his books and grinned.

Tsunade was at his side, having stayed there for decades. She stirred and sighed. “What is it?”

“I feel as though someone has discovered the same pleasures as I today,” he whispered. “A true protégée!”

“Sure.” Tsunade rolled her eyes. “I’m sure you’ll find a kid as debauched as you used to be. Pervert.” She smacked the back of his head, earning a grumble as he continued on his signing.


End file.
